The Legal Question of Racism in Eritrea during the British Military Administration: A Study of Colonial Attitudes and Responses, 1941-1945

The Legal Question ofRacism in Eritrea during the British Military Administration: A Study ofColonial Attitudes and Responses, 1941-1945 Richard Pankhurst Addis Ababa University By the time of Mussolini's entry into the European war on 10 June 1940, Italian fascism had become virulently racist. Rigid laws against Jews, African "natives," and "half-castes" were in force, both in Italy and in its colonial empire. The British, who occupied the then-Italian colony of Eritrea 10 months after the Duce's declaration of war, immediately set up a military "caretaker" administration. Members of this administration, and their superiors in the Middle East Command in Cairo, found themselves in a difficult position. The Italian colony was one of the most racist territories in Africa, and one of the few under Allied control in which anti-Semitic laws were in force. The British Government claimed that it was fighting a war for "freedom," and might therefore have been expected to embark on a policy of racial emancipation. This was, however, almost impossible, for Britain was also the ruler of a colonial empire, in many parts of which a color bar was operative. One of the largest contingents in the Ethiopian Liberation Campaign had moreover come from the Union of South Africa, which was then virtually as racist as fascist Italy itself—and many of the principal British administrators and officials concerned with Italian East Africa themselves came from a colonial, and racist, background. The purpose of this article is threefold: (l) to review the legacy of Italian fascist racism in Eritrea in the immediate post-war period; (2) to examine the reactions of the British Military Administration, and of their superiors in London and Cairo; and (3) to trace how the structure® Northeast African Studies (ISSN 0740-9133) Vol. 2, No. 2 (New Series) 1995, pp. 25-70 25 26 Richard Pankhurst of fascist racism, against both Jews and "natives," was gradually, though haltingly, dismantled. Mussolini's Racial Laws Italian racism in Eritrea was almost as old as the colony itself. Provision for different types of schooling for Italians and "natives" was officially enacted as early as 1909. There was urban segregation in the capital, Asmara, in 1916. Public transport was also segregated at about the same time, with "white" passengers sitting in the front of buses, and "natives " relegated to the rear.1 Notwithstanding such discrimination, interracial concubinage was widely practiced. Many Italians, including colonial officials great and small, had madamas, or local wives, either on a permanent or temporary basis, and the number of Italo-Eritrean "half-castes" was steadily increasing.2 Mussolini's seizure of power in 1922 did not lead to any immediate increase in racism in the Italian empire. An Organic Law for Eritrea and Italian Somalia, enacted on 6 July 1933, nevertheless introduced a new concept of "physical characteristics" as a means of discriminating against persons of racially mixed parentage. In this law "half-castes," who were legitimate or recognized by an Italian parent, retained the right to Italian citizenship. The position of "half-castes" of unknown parentage was, however, changed. Article XVII stated that whereas legitimate or recognized children could obtain Italian citizenship automatically , those of unknown parentage were obliged to claim it. To do so they had to prove that they had received a "perfectly Italian education " at least up to the third grade, had attained the age of eighteen, and had not practiced polygamy.3 The Duce's invasion of Ethiopia, on 3 October 1935, was a major "turning-point" in the history of fascist racism. Almost immediately after their occupation of Addis Ababa, on 5 May 1936, the fascists launched a vigorous racist propaganda campaign, which increased in intensity as Mussolini became ideologically ever closer to Hitler and Nazi Germany. This campaign included the publication of a glossy propaganda magazine—La Diffesa della Razza—and served as a prelude and accompaniment to the enactment of a series of racist Royal Decrees. They were directed first against African "natives," and later against The Legal Question ofRacism in Eritrea 27 Jews and "half-castes." Signed by the gallant King Vittorio Emanuele III, they applied both to Italy and its colonial empire. Several Italian colonial...